Neighbors Want City to Aggressively Tackle West Nile

DALLAS, Tex. — Two people have died this summer from the West Nile Virus in Texas. Several others have been diagnosed with the disease and now some residents are questioning if the city is doing enough to resolve the problem.

West Nile Virus is spread by infected mosquitos. Jon Whiiten has recovered from a bout with the virus.

“It was pretty bad there for thee or four days, it was miserable,” he said.

The 49-year-old was one of the first confirmed cases after he tested positive for the disease.

“It was like the flu, times three, or four, or five,” Whitten said.

Even though the City of Dallas is keeping people informed, they only have three workers responsible for testing and spraying 385 square miles of neighborhoods. Other cities like Houston has eight full-time workers, eight seasonal workers and two assistants. Smaller cities like Austin have five full-time workers along with two extra for the summer months. The risk of mosquitos spreading the disease is greater during the summer.

Whitten and his neighbors say the city told them it would put up signs and send out flyers after spraying but neither happened.